The episcopal or pontifical blessing [1] is a blessing imparted by a bishop, especially if using a formula given in official liturgical books.
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The term is sometimes used of such a formula, rather than of an actual blessing.
The episcopal or pontifical blessing [1] is a blessing imparted by a bishop, especially if using a formula given in official liturgical books.
The term is sometimes used of such a formula, rather than of an actual blessing.
The Roman Missal gives a formula for the episcopal or pontifical blessing at the end of Mass of the Roman Rite celebrated by a bishop: [2] It consists of the regular liturgical greeting, two verses from the Psalms (113:2 and 124:8), each divided into two parts, and then the actual invocation. [3]
The following is the formula, together with the introductory Dominus vobiscum :
The official English translation is:
Rather elaborate ceremonies have sometimes surrounded the imparting of a pontifical blessing, as indicated in Adrian Fortescue's The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described. [4] It is somewhat simpler today. [5]
The Caeremoniale Episcoporum indicates that use of the above formula is not mandatory for a bishop even when celebrating a station Mass. He may also use other appropriate formulas given in the Roman Missal, Pontifical or Ritual, making the Sign of the Cross three times over the people. [6]
Under the heading "Ordinary Blessing", the Caeremoniale Episcoporum gives two formulas for use in less solemn circumstances, such as at the end of Vespers or Lauds, at the close of a procession with the Blessed Sacrament, and even outside of liturgical celebrations. It gives the traditional formula in second place after a formula found also in the Roman Missal among the solemn blessings that even a priest may use at the end of Mass: [3] [7]
In the Church of England, a pontifical blessing may be preceded by:
These are the same versicles and responses as in the Roman rite, but in the reverse order, following the Sarum tradition. [9]
The pontifical blessing used in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America has been described as follows:
Put on the mitre and then take the staff. With the staff in the left hand and the right hand over the breast, the bishop begins versicles "Our help is in the name of the Lord, etc." For the blessing itself, raise the right hand, palm out. Three signs of the cross are made with the right hand so as to cover the entire assembly. After the hand is raised, the bishop says, "The blessing, mercy, and grace of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be upon you, etc." [10]
The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite or usus antiquior, or the Traditional Latin Mass or the Traditional Rite is the liturgy in the Roman Missal of the Catholic Church codified in 1570 and published thereafter with amendments up to 1962. Celebrated almost exclusively in Ecclesiastical Latin, it was the most widely used Eucharistic liturgy in the world from its issuance in 1570 until its replacement by the Mass of Paul VI promulgated in 1969
Vespers is a liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Lutheran liturgies. The word for this prayer time comes from the Latin vesper, meaning "evening".
A Pontifical High Mass, also called Solemn Pontifical Mass, is a Solemn or High Mass celebrated by a bishop using certain prescribed ceremonies. Although in modern English the word pontifical is almost exclusively associated with the pope, any bishop may be properly called a pontiff. Thus, the celebrant of a Pontifical High Mass may be the pope, any bishop or any other prelate who is allowed to wear pontificals.
Urbi et Orbi denotes a papal address and apostolic blessing given by the pope on certain solemn occasions.
The Roman Ritual, also known as the Ritual is one of the official liturgical books of the Roman Rite of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. It contains all of the services that a priest or deacon may perform; and are not contained in the Missale Romanum, Pontificale Romanum, or Caeremoniale Episcoporum, but for convenience does include some rituals that one of these books contains.
The Confiteor is one of the prayers that can be said during the Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass of the Roman Rite in the Catholic Church. It is also said in the Lutheran Church at the beginning of the Divine Service, and by some Anglo-Catholic Anglicans before Mass.
The Penitential Act is a Christian form of general confession of sinfulness that normally takes place at the beginning of the celebration of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholicism, as well as in Lutheranism. In Anglicanism, it is said as part of the Eucharist, but it is not considered an official sacrament.
The Roman Rite is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the sui iuris particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs rites such as the Roman Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours as well as the manner in which sacraments and blessings are performed.
The Cæremoniale Episcoporum is a liturgical book that describes the church services to be performed by bishops of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church.
Solemn Mass is the full ceremonial form of a Mass, predominantly associated with the Tridentine Mass where it is celebrated by a priest with a deacon and a subdeacon, requiring most of the parts of the Mass to be sung, and the use of incense. It is also called High Mass or Solemn High Mass.
Dóminus vobíscum is an ancient salutation and blessing traditionally used by the clergy in the Masses of the Catholic Church and other liturgies, as well as liturgies of other Western Christian denominations, such as Lutheranism, Anglicanism and Methodism.
The Cistercian Rite is the liturgical rite, distinct from the Roman Rite, specific to the Cistercian Order of the Catholic Church.
In Eastern and Western Christian liturgical practice, the elevation is a ritual raising of the consecrated Sacred Body and Blood of Christ during the celebration of the Eucharist. The term is applied especially to the Sacred Body of Christ (Host) and the chalice containing the Most Precious Blood of Christ being lifted up and shown to the congregation immediately after each is consecrated, in the Mass, both in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church and in the Lutheran Churches. The term may also refer to a musical work played or sung at that time. The consecration has been historically accompanied by the ringing of church bells.
The Collect for Purity is the name traditionally given to the collect prayed near the beginning of the Eucharist in most Anglican rites. Its oldest known sources are Continental, where it appears in Latin in the 10th century Sacramentarium Fuldense Saeculi X.
In liturgical use the term preface is a formal thanksgiving that immediately precedes the Canon, Eucharistic Prayer, Prayer of Consecration or analogous portion of the Eucharist. The preface, which begins at the words, "It is very meet and just, right and salutary" is ushered in, in all liturgies, with the Sursum corda and ends with the Sanctus.
Pontifical vestments, also referred to as episcopal vestments or pontificals, are the liturgical vestments worn by bishops in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, in addition to the usual priestly vestments for the celebration of the Holy Mass, other sacraments, sacramentals, and canonical hours. The pontifical vestments are only worn when celebrating or presiding over liturgical functions. As such, the garments should not be confused with choir dress, which are worn when attending liturgical functions but not celebrating or presiding.
Orate fratres is the incipit of a request for prayer that the priest celebrating Mass of the Roman Rite addresses to the faithful participating in it before saying the Prayer over the Offerings, formerly called the Secret. It thus corresponds to the Oremus said before the Collect and the Postcommunion, and is an expansion of those shorter exhortations. It has gone through several alterations since the Middle Ages.
Within the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, a variety of liturgical books have been officially approved to contain the words to be recited and the actions to be performed in the celebration of Catholic liturgy. The Roman Rite of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church is the most widely used liturgical rite. The titles of some of these books contain the adjective "Roman", e.g. the Roman Missal, to distinguish them from the liturgical books for the other rites of the church.
A pontifical is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy Orders. While the Roman Pontifical and closely related Ceremonial of Bishops of the Roman Rite are the most common, pontificals exist in other liturgical traditions.
The Coronation of the Emperor of Brazil was the religious act of consecration during which the monarchs of the Empire of Brazil were solemnly blessed, anointed, crowned, invested with the other items of the imperial regalia and enthroned, according to the usages of the Catholic Church, the Empire's official, established Church. The coronation of the Brazilian monarch confirmed the accession of a new emperor to the throne, and corresponded to similar rites that took place in other Christian monarchies. The two Brazilian emperors, Pedro I and Pedro II, underwent the ceremony of coronation on 1 December 1822 and 18 July 1841, respectively. Those remain the two sole acts of coronation that took place in the South American continent.
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